Orlando Vacation Homes INSIDER

An Unexpected City for Shopping

As I have mentioned before, I am Italian and have fairly dark skin naturally so I thought that there was just no need to apply sunscreen before spending the entire day out in the sun at Wet N’ Wild.  Come to find out - I was wrong!  I woke up the next day burnt to a crisp and was in a severe amount of pain.  I cursed myself for being so stupid and my Mothers incessant lectures about wearing sunscreen and the importance of skincare kept replaying over and over in my head.  Hmmm, what could I possibly do in Orlando that didn’t require spending the day in the sun and would still allow me to leave the grounds of Cypress Pointe Resort?   Shopping of course!!!!

After a small amount of investigation on my part, I determined that there were 2 main sources of shopping in the Orlando Area – The Mall at Millenia and Prime Outlets International.  The Mall at Millenia appeared to be an extremely high-end mall, housing retailers such as Tiffany & Co., Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Dior, and Burberry just to name a few.  Knowing myself fairly well by this point, I thought I better NOT surround myself with the above mentioned stores as the temptation to buy will surely overpower my typically level-headed thinking and budget constraints.  SO, the decision was made – Prime Outlet International here I come!

After an incredibly painful shower and a massive amount of aloe applied, I drove up to the Outlet mall which was only minutes from my Orlando vacation home.  Prime Outlet International was huge and had a massive amount of stores – mainly name brand ranging from children’s apparel to luggage to home furnishings to health and beauty.  I stopped in at least 2 dozen stores before collapsing due to exhaustion.  I found a quaint-looking café and grabbed a seat and a snack – looking down I realized I had done a fair amount of damage and had bags from Banana Republic, COACH, Gap, and Nine West.  To be honest, I could have bought ALOT more and was pretty proud of myself for showing some self-restraint. 

The Prime Outlet Mall has a plethora of retailers all advertising and upholding their word of having unbelievable deals on name brand clothing and accessories.  I found some great deals and came away with a handful of items I couldn’t wait to sport.  Great day spent shopping in Orlando and best of all – I managed to keep myself out of the sun’s reach!!!

Jordan

Add comment May 30th, 2008

The Bomb Bay - A 76-Foot Vertical Drop

As predicted, it was another gorgeous day in Orlando – about 75 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  It was the perfect day to hit Wet N’ Wild!  I headed out of my new vacation home at Cypress Pointe Resort first thing in the morning, overwhelmed with excitement and anticipation about spending my day at a water park.

As I surveyed the “land” at Wet N’ Wild, I realized that the park had a little something for all ages.  I was delighted to find that there is several water rides that looked to be fairly intense and made especially for the thrill seekers of the world!  I plotted out my day - planning out the order I would go on each ride - finally deciding that I would work my way up to the most intense ride they have – “The Bomb Bay!” 

I hit all 5 of the thrill rides (enjoying each one of them on some level) and was finally ready to take on the most thrilling ride of them all - “The Bomb Bay!”  “The Bomb Bay” is a 76-foot, nearly vertical slide that drops you into the depths below.  As I walked up the stairs to get to the top I could feel my heart start beating faster and suddenly developed a knot in my stomach.  Now I am not one to get nervous prior to going on intense rides, however for some reason I was quickly overcome with anxiety, which increased with each step I took towards the top.  Once I got to the platform, I looked down and realized just how high up I really was -  it was too late to back out at that point, so I sat down, held my breath and after what seemed like hours the trap door was released and down I went!!!  It was awesome - one of the best thrills I have had in long time and I immediately jumped back in-line to do it again!!!  This time I didn’t have butterflies in my stomach, only pure excitement and impatience to get to the top again!

Wet N’ Wild certainly provided me with the thrills I was seeking and a jammed pack day of fun in Orlando.  BUT even if you are not looking for adventure and thrill seeking rides there is still plenty of kid and family friendly, low intensity rides to keep you busy for hours upon hours.  My one piece of advice for those who choose to spend the day at Wet N’ Wild?  Wear sunscreen!!!!  And be sure to reapply throughout the day!

Jordan

Add comment May 27th, 2008

Orlando Still a Thrill

Orlando has never lost its thrill or its appeal to me.  As a native New Yorker, going to Orlando was always the trip of a lifetime for us northern folk’.  It took a year or more of planning, saving, scheduling and rescheduling.  I remember vividly, marking my calendar, counting down the months, weeks, days, even hours, until our blessed trip.  Ok, that’s a little melodramatic, but the point is, my Orlando vacation is part of some of my most cherished memories - it’s made an indelible mark on my life.

The Orlando vacation was the trip to see Mickey, palm trees, orange groves, princesses, castles, and rockets!!!  I remember the magic, the excitement, fireworks, and oh, the food.  I felt as if I had found America’s Neverland, where time stands still, and people, all people, from every land, culture, background, economic status, color, and age, all shared this unspoken bond of hope and joy.

Disney so poignantly describes the Magic Kingdom as “the place where dreams come true.” I believe that can be said of Orlando itself.  It’s more than a vacation destination, but it’s a dream vacation, when for maybe a week or two, there is wonder, family, and did I mention, food????  Suddenly, life doesn’t seem as serious, and there’s a recollection of lost feelings, feelings of security, safety, pure happiness, and love.  It may be a certain fragrance in the air, or a familiar landmark, or a giant Mickey cookie that causes these feelings to rush back to our hearts and minds.

Five years ago, when my family decided to relocate to Orlando, Florida I was elated, but also a bit apprehensive.  Would Orlando now become commonplace to me?  Would the trip to Disney still hold a sense of awe and magic for my children, who now only live 25 minutes away?  Would my Neverland become a distant memory of childhood lost?

Yet, here I am five years later, still in awe of Orlando.  I work for a company, Global Resort Homes, which allows me to share in the making of so many new and beautiful memories.  I have the opportunity to see the faces of so many children, who much like me when I was child, have counted down the months, hours and days for this trip.  I also get to tell them that I know Mickey personally….and that we’re actually neighbors.  In any given day, I can speak to a person from Ireland, South Africa, Spain, or Japan.  I get such joy when I see their faces light up as I tell them about all the area attractions in addition to Disney, that Orlando offers.  As I describe the incredible water slide at Windsor Hills, or the dancing water splash pool at Oakwater, or the plasma TV and PlayStation 2 that is located in their own personal game room at Cypress Point, I know that I am playing a small part in the making of a memory.  For so many of our guests it’s one of many new memories to be made, for some our guests it’s some of their final memories, but they all share the same expectation - everyone wants to see a dream come true!!!!

Dana Broadway

Add comment May 19th, 2008

Moving Day: Cypress Pointe Resort

As I mentioned in my first entry, I was asked by Russ (Global’s General Manager) to come and stay at a few of their Orlando vacation homes and write about my experiences and opinions about their various vacation homes and the Orlando area in general.  Up until now, I have been staying at an amazing, 6 bedroom vacation home in Windsor Hills Resort.  As much as I loved my accommodations, I knew if I wanted to get the “full” feel for all the properties Global Resort Homes has to offer its guests, I would need to stay at a few different communities.  As such, it has come time for me to relocate to Cypress Pointe Resort, Global Resort Home’s newest community made up of 4, 5, or 6 bedroom detached vacation homes.  

My first observation as I pulled into Cypress Pointe Resort was that the community was quaint and quiet – Florida wetlands and mature trees form the background for most of the homes in Cypress Pointe, offering its guests a sense of privacy and tranquility while being only miles away from Orlando area attractions.  Every home comes with its own pool, spa, and game room in addition to a fully equipped kitchen, spacious bedrooms, and all the luxurious of home.  As I settled into my new Orlando vacation home, I knew (yet again) I was in for a totally different experience then if I were to be staying at a typical Orlando hotel or resort. 

As I unpacked and settled into my new home I began planning what I would do the next day.  After much thought, I decided I would go check out Wet ‘N Wild as I had yet to experience any of Orlando’s renowned water parks.  I checked the weather and it was predicted to be another beautiful day in Orlando so I headed to bed and set my alarm for 8am so I could hit the water park bright and early!!  Waterslides and sun – what could be better???

Jordan

Add comment May 16th, 2008

ADA Friendly Orlando Vacation Home

Previously, I wrote a blog about the Roloff family as they were coming to Orlando to film a segment of their show Little People, Big World.  The Roloff’s requested a handicapped accessible home so we reserved them one of our Orlando vacation homes in Cypress Pointe Resort. For this blog, I would like to expand a little more about this vacation home as it is really quite impressive and gives many people an opportunity have a great vacation in Orlando.  The owner of the home is a full time wheelchair user and went through a lot of effort ensuring that all features were functional for handicapped and non-handicapped guests alike.

The home has a minimum of 32’’ wide doors on the ground floor and has level access to all external doors allowing easy wheelchair access.  The master bedroom is spacious and has fully electric profiling twin beds (queen sized together) with height adjustment and a backrest that sits up to 85 degrees (bed rails can be fitted upon request).  What makes this house truly unique is the fully electric ceiling track hoist in the master suite between the bedroom and bathroom.  The track hoist enables effortless transfers from wheelchair to bed, bathroom and shower seat. (Capacity: 400 lbs)

The master bathroom is specially adapted with wheel-in shower. The tiled floor has a level access shower area with two showers, one on a flexible pipe and a wall mounted shower seat with grab bars.  There is also a Toto toilet/bidet with an automatic lid.

The screened-in pool area includes a wide pool deck for safe and easy wheelchair use and an electric pool hoist which is positioned to allow access to both the 28ft x 14ft pool and the spa. There is a US to UK transformer for use with wheelchair/medical equipment battery chargers (please ensure you bring your own battery charger).  Additionally, there is a manual hoist for use throughout the villa.

In addition to being handicapped accessible, this home offers many amenities to make your Orlando vacation truly special.  There is a full size billiards table in the upstairs game room and an air hockey game in the lower level.  There are 4 bathrooms and 6 spacious bedrooms, all having their own television.  The home boasts a large, fully furnished kitchen with a breakfast bar that seats four and a formal dining room that seats eight.

Cypress Pointe Boulavard 1001 in Cypress Pointe Resort is a truly unique vacation home for disabled and non-disabled guests alike.  Please call Global Resort Home to find out more information at 888.426.0472.

Add comment May 12th, 2008